- Two of the BBC's biggest stars have launched stinging
attacks on the corporation over the quality of its programming on television
and radio.
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- Sir David Attenborough will tonight accuse the BBC, already
reeling from its rough treatment in the Hutton report, of concentrating
on lifestyle shows rather than public service commitments.
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- The DJ Mark Radcliffe, known for his irreverent pairing
with his BBC Radio 1 sidekick Marc "Lard" Riley, has fired a
parting shot at his bosses by admitting he "hates" the music
he is forced to play.
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- Sir David - a former controller of BBC2, who has made
award-winning landmark natural history programmes such as Life on Earth
- says classical drama and science are being neglected.
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- His attack comes in an edition of Panorama, "What's
the Point of the BBC?", which is the latest act of self-flagellation
by the BBC in the wake of the Hutton report.
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- During a studio debate he says of the corporation: "I
think there are great areas of drama which it doesn't tackle, classical
drama of one sort or another.
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- "Science has one programme on BBC [television],
but very little on BBC1, and it should be at the core of what people should
be interested in and be learning about.
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- "So if you have three programmes on gardening, then
I would suggest you drop one of them, or maybe even two of them and do
some of these other things."
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- On Friday nights, BBC2 occasionally schedules three gardening
shows back to back.
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- Sir David's views come almost a year after the BBC's
former director-general, Greg Dyke, said BBC2 would be "reducing its
reliance" on leisure programmes.
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- Perhaps ironically, former Gardeners' World host Alan
Titchmarsh is stepping into Sir David's shoes to front a new BBC natural
history series.
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- Mr Radcliffe aired his views as he prepares to leave
Radio 1 after more than a decade at the station to take up a late-night
slot on Radio 2.
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- The move signals the end of his partnership with Mr Riley,
who is being given his own Saturday afternoon show on the BBC's digital
station 6 Music. The duo built up a cult following playing credible tracks
on their old 10pm show on Radio 1. However, the afternoon show they have
hosted since 1997 has meant they have been increasingly obliged to play
chart hits from the station's playlist rather than the obscure classics
they championed.
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- Station bosses are believed to have taken advantage of
the pair's contract coming up for renewal to end their tenure at Radio
1. Both presenters, who are in their 40s, are much older than the target
audience of under-24s.
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- Speaking about his move, Mr Radcliffe said: "I'm
looking forward to not hating the records quite as much as I have recently.
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- "It's been a bit difficult at Radio 1 for a while
- but I'm a 45-year-old bloke, it's not what I like. There's not much there
for me, which is why I'm leaving."
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- Mr Radcliffe, who has worked for the BBC for 20 years,
initially as a producer, said he and Mr Riley had pondered whether they
should keep the double act going.
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- "In the end the decision was taken out of our hands,"
Mr Radcliffe said.
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- A spokesman for Radio 1 said: "Mark is completely
entitled to his opinion."
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/media/story.jsp?story=498668
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